Tehran says media reports that the US may be preparing to use nuclear weapons against targets in Iran are part of a psychological warfare campaign.

A report in The New Yorker magazine said the US was increasing its planning for a possible air attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

A senior Iranian presidential aide said the report was a joke and that any such attack was highly unlikely.

US President George W Bush dismissed the report as "wild speculation".

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday maintained his country's strong stance on its nuclear programme, saying it would not back down "one iota" on demands that it freeze its uranium enrichment programme.

President Ahmadinejad also promised "very good nuclear news in the coming days", without giving more details.

That news could coincide with the visit on Wednesday of Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Retaliation threat

In the New Yorker report, veteran journalist Seymour Hersh said the US had stepped up plans for a possible air attack and had increased clandestine activities inside Iran.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said the report was part of a White House-orchestrated psychological warfare campaign against Iran's nuclear programme.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Some people are afraid the president will want to go - just as he wanted to go on Iraq

Mr Taraqi said it was clear the Americans had no idea what was going on inside Iran.

But BBC Iranian affairs analyst, Sadeq Saba, says despite the official Iranian reactions, such reports will cause some concern among ordinary Iranians.

The Iranian people have witnessed two major wars in neighbouring Afghanistan and Iraq in recent years and they are increasingly fearful they may face a similar fate if Iran's nuclear crisis is not resolved through diplomatic means, our correspondent says.

'Potential Hitler'

The US, Britain and the EU all dismissed the New Yorker report.

Speaking in Washington, Mr Bush insisted the US was committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the Iran issue.